The Spellfire Saga, Volume Two: Awakenings
by DragonDancer5150
Summary: The new fellowship of 'young Powers' grows closer in friendship as its members begin to explore their intertwined fates. The Puzzle spirit discovers some secrets of his mysterious imprisonment, while a newcomer starts over. YYH x YGO x Ronin Warriors
1. Chapter 1 Reflection

Disclaimer – Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Ronin Warriors (a.k.a. Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers) and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to their respective owners. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters. If you recognize him/her/it, I don't own him/her/it. If you don't recognize, I might still not be the owner but it'd be best to ask. I'd appreciate it, anyway. ((grin))

"The Spellfire Saga – 2: Awakenings"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 1 – Reflection

The alarm sounded far too soon.

He groaned and rolled over, a blind hand finding the clock on the shelf of his headboard, clicking the Snooze button on the rear before he settled back in. _Just a _few_ more minutes . . . please . ._ .

A chuckle vibrated through him, one not his own, and he felt someone gently shake him from the inside. -_No, Aibou, that was the Off button. Come on._-

_Nnn . . . ?_ Yugi reached up again, pulling the cartoony clock down to his chest as he rubbed sleep from bleary eyes. Six a.m. Not that he was the spring-out-of-bed type, but this morning found him especially groggy. _Wow, why am I so tired?_ Then, it came back to him.

He had not slept but probably a total of three hours last night – or, rather, this morning. First of all, he had not even climbed into bed until nearly twelve-thirty, after getting home from his Duel with Jonouchi, their personal end to Battle City, but he had not fallen asleep for at least another hour, with a brief conversation with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle in the middle of that. Thick clouds had gathered before the Duel with Jonouchi was finished, and Yugi had been glad to be home before it started raining, though it never really did. Mostly what passed over Domino was a noisy lightning storm . . . which proved fortuitous for the thief who broke his bedroom window, covering the noise of shattering glass under a particularly violent peal of thunder. Yugi had left his Puzzle box with the God cards sitting on his desk, which stood under his window, unwittingly leaving the hot items right within easy reach.

Exhaustion forgotten, Yugi hauled himself out of bed, dragging his protesting body to the laundry basket by the wardrobe. He dug in, breathing a gasp of relief to find the golden box near the bottom. He had not been able to think of a better place to hide it after recovering it.

He stuffed the box deep into his backpack and dressed for school, shaking his head. _No . . . I'm not the one who got it back_.

Hours before, Yugi had hit the street at a dead run, the spirit imploring him, -_Aibou, let me do it!_- Yugi, however, had been adamant, growling as he spotted the thief bolting away down the avenue. "NO! It was _my_ duty to protect those cards!" Down that street, around a corner, along another – Yugi was fast on his feet, but clinging fatigue from the long weekend coupled with his shorter gait still had made for a heavy disadvantage, and he had quickly lost the thief. Then, he heard a yell down an alley ahead of him. He had darted to investigate, only to stop cold at the sight of a slim, wildly snow-maned figure in a black trench coat standing over the thief, who lay unconscious at his feet.

Yugi went into the bathroom to take care of toiletries, remembering how Bakura Ryou had turned to him, the Puzzle box in hand . . . except that it had not been Bakura in control of his own body.

_"If we lost these cards, we'd never find the pharaoh's memories! It's your job to keep them safe! Well, Yugi?"_

_ For a moment, it was all Yugi could do to keep his jaw from hitting the concrete, and even the spirit within him needed a heartbeat to recover from shock._

_ "Feh," the spirit of the Millennium Ring grumped, "you're so _careless_, I can't leave you alone for an instant. Here!" He tossed the box. "Make sure they're all there."_

_ "Nn!" Yugi managed not to fumble it before he had it squarely in hand. Being solid gold, it was weighty and its corners dug into the soft flesh of his palms and fingers as it landed. He lifted off the lid, and breathed a sigh of relief. _It's okay. The cards are all right_._

_ The Ring-spirit eyed him hard. "Every card collector on Earth knows that you won the God cards at Battle City. They're the rarest cards that Pegasus left to this world. You should have known thieves would come after them."_

_ Yugi hesitated a moment before speaking up. "Bakura . . . thanks for helping me – you got my cards back."_

_ "Hn."_

_ "Thank you, but . . . you're wearing that _thing_ . . . " Yugi would have had to be blind not to have noted it the first instant he laid eyes on his friend._

_ "Heh . . . do you mean this?" Five solid-gold needles chimed softly in the damp night air as the treacherous spirit held out the hoop-and-triangle from his chest. "Yugi, the Millennium Ring belongs to me . . . although I'm sure my host's little theft on the Battle Ship caused a problem for you."_

_ -_That's one way of putting it_,- the spirit of Millennium Puzzle growled from the door of his soul room, ready to act in an instant. All he needed was Yugi's permission. If the former tomb-raider so much as _breathed_ wrong . . . _

_Yugi only glared back at the Ring-spirit, recognizing the bait for what it was and unwilling to take it. He could not help but wonder, however – when had Bakura found his way to Yugi's room? And how or why? By accident? Or was he led there, coerced by the whispering voice of the spirit of the Ring? He could not have been possessed or otherwise forced, Yugi knew – at least, not if the Ring worked the same way the Puzzle did, with the same limitations on its bound entity. If Yugi were physically separated from the Millennium Puzzle, he could still hear the spirit's voice – distance alone was not enough to break that bond – but the spirit could not "reach" him, could not possess him, trapped fully in the Puzzle without that physical contact. Did the dark spirit of the Ring have such a hold on poor Bakura that he could influence the boy's subconscious mind even from a distance? Yugi could not imagine Bakura having picked up the Ring on his own, not with knowing what it housed and what that did to _him.

_"Don't worry," the Ring-spirit smirked, "I know that, sooner or later, you'll need all seven Millennium Items. When that time comes, and no sooner, I'll hand over the Millennium Ring. In return for that, I'll give you _this._"_

Yugi went back to his bedroom for his backpack before heading downstairs for breakfast and glanced at the spot where his gym bag had been left last night. It was not there now but rather waited for him in the locked office of the game shop below. He had thought about putting the Puzzle box with the God cards in there too, but felt it a bad idea to keep everything in one place.

His count of Millennium Items was now up to four: the Puzzle, the Necklace, the Rod . . . and the Millennium Eye of Pegasus J. Crawford, founder and past if not current president of Industrial Illusions, the American game company that published the wildly popular trading card game Duel Monsters TCG.

Yugi stumbled a bit at the bottom of the staircase, absently trying to step down one stair too many. He gave his mother a sleepy grin, letting mere exhaustion explain his lack of focus this morning as he dropped into a chair at the dining table beside his grandfather, even now still reeling from shock. If he had thought the sight of the Ring-spirit having felled the thief had knocked him for a loop, both he and the spirit he hosted had been stricken dumb by the sight of the thing in the Ring-spirit's outstretched palm – a solid gold sphere a little smaller than a golfball with a raised Horus Eye in bas relief on the surface that matched that of the Puzzle, the Ring, indeed most of the Millennium Items.

_"Take it, Yugi! Let this be a symbol of my loyalty. I'll help you solve the puzzle of the pharaoh's memories."_

_Yugi only gaped for a long moment. _No one knows what happened to Pegasus after the Duelist Kingdom Tournament. H-how did Bakura get the Millennium Eye?

_Arms folded as he stood against the door jamb of his soul room, the pharaonic spirit of the Puzzle thought he could hazard a guess or two, but he refrained from voicing them . . . for now._

_"Yugi, when you solved the Millennium Puzzle, you released the pharaoh's soul into this world. In that moment, it became your duty as the chosen one to reawaken the pharaoh's memories. To do that, you need all the Millennium Items. This Eye is one of those. I'm going to give this to you so you can use it for its intended purpose. When you have collected all of the other six Items, I'll give you the last one, the Millennium Ring. You have my word!"_

_The Puzzle-spirit's low growl vibrated through Yugi. -_Yes, but we know what your word is worth._-_

_There was that, but there was something that bothered Yugi more in that moment. _How much does Bakura know about the Millennium Items? Pegasus talked about seeing something in an underground temple in Egypt. He'd called it the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories, and said that it had holes in it that matched the Millennium Items._ "Bakura, do you know about the Tablet of Memories? Do you know what happens when you fit all the Millennium Items into it?"_

_The Ring-spirit smirked, head cocking a bit to one side. "The Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories? That memorial stela in the museum you're going to visit tomorrow . . . or do you mean the _Millennium Stone_, the great tablet in the village of Kul Elna?" He allowed a caustic laugh at Yugi's confused expression. "Pegasus had his names mixed up. The Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories must be that stone slab at the museum. What Pegasus saw is called the Millennium Stone. _That_ stone tablet is an artifact that connects _this_ world to the world _beyond_." _

_Yugi gasped. _The world beyond?_ Within him, the Puzzle-spirit reacted with similar shock to the news._

_The Ring-spirit continued. "When the seven Millennium Items are placed in the stone slab, the Door to the Afterlife will open."_

_"The Door to the Afterlife . . . ?" _This just keeps getting better and better_, Yugi thought with a silent groan._

_"That's right. And you know what _that_ means . . . don't you, Yugi?"_

_The pharaonic spirit was solemnly quiet within him as Yugi cupped the Puzzle in his hand, contemplating. "I . . . I kind of know. It's my duty to send the Other Me . . . no . . . the _pharaoh's soul_ sealed in the Millennium Puzzle . . . to the Afterlife."_

_"Bingo! That's what you get for solving the puzzle. Great power means great responsibility, right? In any case, I'll help however I can. I promise, Yugi. Here! Here's the Eye. Take it!"_

_Yugi barely dropped the Puzzle back against his stomach in time to catch the sphere thrown at him, relieved to do so successfully._

_Within him, the Puzzle-spirit was frowning. -_Why is he being so friendly? He used to be after the Millennium Items himself_**.**__-_

_-_He even tried to kill us_,- Yugi reminded him. -_We can't trust him _that_ easily!_- The spirit only nodded._

_The smirk was back on the Ring-spirit's face. "What? You look suspicious . . . "_

_"Tell me why you want to help me!" Yugi demanded._

_To Yugi's surprise, it was the Ring-spirit's turn to contemplate his Millennium Item before quietly answering. "I, too, am a _soul_ in a Millennium Item. I was sealed in the Millennium Ring for three thousand years. I can't do anything without a host body. So, Yugi . . . I want to go to the Afterlife, too! When the pharaoh goes there, so will I."_

"Yugi? Yugi!"

"Nn! . . . ah, y-yes, Mom?"

Mutou Michiko sat across from her son at the table, her father-in-law Sugoroku nowhere to be seen. Michiko shook her head. "You haven't heard a thing I've said, have you?"

Yugi hung his head, surprised to see as he cast his eyes down that a bowl of rice and fish sat before him – and that he had managed to eat most of it. "I'm sorry, Mom. The past weekend was really trying, and I didn't sleep much last night at all."

Michiko eyed her son. "I know. I heard you leave and come back a few times. Grandfather says he sent you out last night to pick up his heart medication from the pharmacy, then later you realized you forgot one of your schoolbooks at Honda-kun's house?"

Yugi's heart skipped a beat. She knew that he had left the house both times, and Grandpa knew about the second exit as well. _He must have covered for me to Mom._ _I'll have to be sure to thank him when I get home tonight_. This was not the first time his grandfather had lied for him to his mother. He hated that it was necessary, but what could he do? Michiko did not know the full story of her son's prized curio, had no clue about the second soul her son's body housed, nor suspected the truth of some of the odd things she had noted take place on occasion at the seeming edges of her son's life in the past year, unaware that her son was in fact at the very heart of most of those happenstances.

He hated lying, especially to his mother whom he dearly loved and deeply respected for how much she had worked to make life the best she could for her son after her husband's death – but the truth was too unbelievable. "Yup. My math book. I loaned it to Honda-kun last week, and remembered last night that I have an assignment due today." Which was mostly true, except that he had gotten the book back on Friday and finished the assignment that night, before the tournament. He did remember it last night, though, and had checked his backpack to make sure it was in there.

Michiko raised a skeptical eyebrow. "At two-thirty in the morning?"

_Gods, was that what time it was when that thief broke my window? AH! My window! How do I explain that?_ Yugi doubled over, face in his hands, a soft groan escaping him.

"Yugi!" His mother was at his side the next instant, a hand on his shoulder.

_Great. Now I've worried her again_. He forced himself straight. "It's all right, Mom. I'm just . . . tired enough that I'm not feeling well."

Michiko eyed him. "You did too much this weekend. You know how I feel about that, honey. You get too busy, wear yourself out . . . " She pulled a deep breath, stopping her own lecture before she got started. Again. She crouched by her son's chair so she could meet him eye-to-eye. "Yugi . . . honey . . . " She sighed, running fingers affectionately through his thick locks. He suppressed a grimace at the gesture – it was the kind of thing a mother would do to a young child, not a teenager . . . but he did not really mind so much. "Honey . . . I didn't get the chance to tell you last night how proud I am of you for winning yesterday. There were a lot of technical difficulties, especially towards the end, but I watched as much of those game finals as they were able to air. Yugi . . . I know I've said it before, but . . . I'm glad you've found something you really enjoy, something you're good at . . . something that you can have a lot of confidence in yourself doing . . . "

Yugi nodded, knowing what she was _not_ saying. They had had that conversation before, too. It worried her to see the kind of person her son could be when he played this game. She had watched the Duelist Kingdom Tournament a few months ago as well, having allowed him to go despite the fact that Grandpa was in the hospital at the time. His being home or away would not have helped her father-in-law's condition.

The confidence was certainly wonderful to see, so far removed from the shy introvert he always had been until recently, but there was an edge of hardness that concerned her. What Yugi could not tell her was that it was not truly _him_ that she was seeing in those times.

-_Aibou . . ._ - It grieved the spirit to put his partner in such a situation with his family, that people who did not know about the spirit would mistake _his_ behavior and habits for his softer, more innocent host's. Yugi knew what else was on his mind, too – that the spirit had sworn to protect him, not only from their enemies, but from having to become as he was in order to survive. The spirit cherished his _aibou's_, his _hikari's_, "Light" too much to let it be tainted with his "Darkness" more than was unavoidably necessary.

His mother's fingers brushing his cheek brought his attention back to her. "Just . . . be careful, okay? And don't forget about real life, either, about your future. I know you're very good at games and puzzles of all kinds – none better – but you can't play games the rest of your life."

"I know, Mom."

Michiko grinned, then shook her head a little as she studied him. "You're more and more like your father as you get older . . . " She grimaced slightly, as though she had not meant to say it aloud, but then she smiled, letting her son know that she had meant the words. "Hurry up and finish breakfast, or you'll be late for school. I have a meeting this morning, so I won't be able to drive you if you miss the bus." With that, she gave a last ruffle to his hair before leaving the kitchen.

Yugi gazed absently at his now-cold breakfast. He wished he could remember more of his father, but he had been very young when a lethal cancer had taken the man's life. Yugi sighed. At least he _had_ memories of his father, something his other self sorely lacked. _But hopefully we'll remedy that this afternoon . . . -Right, Other Me?-_

- _. . . indeed._-

Quite frankly, the spirit was doing his best not to get his hopes up, Yugi knew . . . but Yugi himself was hopeful enough for both of them.

-_Bakura's coming with us, Aibou_,- the spirit reminded him, -_which means you know who else will be there_.-

Yugi nodded, recalling the Ring-spirit's parting comments from early this morning.

_"Yugi, after school today, you're going to the museum with your friends, right? My host is looking forward to it. The three God cards and the mystery of the pharaoh's memories . . . soon you'll find another piece of the puzzle. I'll be watching from the shadows. We'll meet again." With that, the spirit had already turned and was walking off into the night._

Yugi gave up on breakfast and cleared the table, cleaning his dishes in the sink. -_I wonder what "other piece" Bakura was talking about_.-

He could feel the spirit's sardonic grin as the other shrugged. -_You're asking _me,_ Aibou?_-

Yugi chuckled, shaking his head as he headed into the game shop at the front of the building. He found Sugoroku in the side room that acted as storage with a corner set aside as a cluttered office space. Locating his gym bag behind the desk, he shouldered it as he called across the room. "Bye, Grandpa! I'm heading to school."

Sugoroku peered at him from between shelves. "Hold on, Yugi." He shuffled around a metal shelving unit, eyeing the gym bag. He glanced out the door, then pulled Yugi further into the room and shut the door behind them. "Yugi, I saw that a little while ago . . . and I know what's in it."

Yugi paused, then nodded. His grandfather knew a lot more than his mother did, but nothing close to the whole story. "Jou-kun, Anzu, and a few others are going straight from school to the museum with me this afternoon. We have something to take care of there. I don't know how long that's going to take, but when I get home tonight, I promise to tell you all about these . . . and . . . about a lot more." He owed his grandfather that, at least – remembering, too, the conversation they had had the night before – and this was one of his mother's late work nights, so he knew he could be safe from her overhearing any of it. He only hoped that Jonouchi and the others could come home with him to help back him up.

-_At the least, I'll be here, Aibou . . ._ - Not that the spirit had any more desire to face Mutou Sugoroku and his possible reactions to "the rest of the story" than Yugi had, but Yugi knew the spirit figured that _he_ owed _Yugi_ at least that much himself.

Sugoroku studied his grandson for a long moment, then laid a hand on his shoulder. "Take care, my boy. I look forward to talking to you tonight, then." He grinned suddenly. "There's a brand-new American pizza restaurant that opened up a few blocks away that I've been thinking about trying. How about I put in an order for dinner tonight?"

Yugi's eyes lit up. He had never had pizza before. Food places that served it were still relatively new, especially outside of the big commercial cities like Tokyo, as it had been much slower to catch on in Japan than hamburgers and related cuisine. "That sounds great, Grandpa! I'll give you a call when I think I know when I'll be home, okay?"

"Sure. And . . . should I plan for the whole gang?"

Yugi's grin turned sheepish. His grandfather knew him and his friends all too well. It was not uncommon for Jonouchi and the others to come over for visits, but all the more so would they likely be here for the conversation to be had that night. Sugoroku knew it, and he understood. Yugi threw his arms around his grandfather. "Thanks, Grandpa!"

Sugoroku embraced his grandson tightly. "Of course, Yugi. Of course . . . "

8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Both grandfather and grandson had long grown accustomed to the reality that was the Millennium Puzzle, and neither took note of the subconscious gestures on both their parts to shift the object aside so that it was not between as they embraced.

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle noticed.

Not that he blamed them, especially on a practical level. The Millennium Puzzle was large, sharply angular, and would hurt to have digging into one's chest if caught between them in such a manner. It was rare these days but still not completely uncommon for Yugi to roll over and wake himself up with the bruising he would get from finding himself laying on the Puzzle when he wore it to bed.

Still, to his chagrin, the spirit found that it hurt all the same – that, in a way, it felt like he himself was being brushed aside, excluded from the warmth and the close familial relationship that his _aibou_ shared with his mother and grandfather, as well as all of his friends. The spirit could sense that warm comfort . . . but could not share in it.

In the boundless silence that was his soul room, boots clicked against hard stone as he paced across the floor to one of the innumerable Escher-ian staircases. None of it was "real" in a material sense, and yet the room always "felt" dank and chill, and more than a little forbidding. It felt like he imagined a tomb would.

_Chh, fitting . . . it _is_ a tomb. Mine. And just as lonely and forgotten_. Or so it sometimes seemed. Yugi was the sole person in existence with whom he could interact on his own, without another person between them, muddying the perceptions of just with whom other people truly communicated. Recently, Jonouchi and the others had come to fully understand and accept that he existed, but whether they saw him as their friend in his own right or appreciated him merely as part-and-parcel of accepting Yugi among them, he could not tell – nor was he sure he wanted to know for certain, ill at ease at the thought of the truth. Granted, he was The Duelist, the one to whom the others turned in times of trouble . . . but it was precisely _because_ of him that trouble found them at all. And there was more. He was not a living man but a shell of what once he had been. He was a ghost, a possessing entity, a self-aware energy pattern bound to an item of power, dependent on it and on his host's life essence for his own continuation. "Things" like him did not necessarily have friends, certainly not families.

_"Whoa, hey! Back off, spook!"_

The spirit jumped, startled at the voice that echoed through the room, sudden and unexpected. _U-urameshi . . . ?_

_"Yeah, you heard me right. Chh, with or without that Malik guy, we already know you're not Mutou. In fact, is he in there? Hey, Mutou, can you hear me?"_

The spirit shook his head, remembering standing in the town square with Hashiba and Urameshi barely two days ago, and how Urameshi had shifted to look _right at_ Yugi when he manifested by the spirit's side.

_"Hey, there you are. Listen, tell your buddy he's the one wastin' time findin' Jonouchi if he's gonna start askin' a bunch of questions."_

_You . . . can see him?_ the spirit recalled stammering back in shock.

_"Hear 'im, too."_

_I-I . . . I wonder if Urameshi would be able to see and hear _me_ if I did the same?_ Hashiba had neither seen nor heard Yugi, but he reacted a bit all the same, as though able to sense Yugi's soul-presence.

And then there was Shu, who had jumped when Yugi disappeared, taking control of his body back so the spirit could rest. _He saw Yugi, too, so long as he had that body armor of his on. In fact . . . a number of them did_. He had ignored it at the time, focusing on more pressing matters, but now that he had a chance to think about it, he remembered several of them reacting – or _not_ particularly reacting – to the sight of Yugi's soul next to his body.

_Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Bakura, Otogi . . . even Mai now . . . th-they're not the only ones who know of me anymore. And many of the others would even be able to see me!_ It shocked him to realize, in that moment, how much he had longed for acceptance in his own right, for people to know of _his_ existence and accept _him_ as a separate person among them.

The spirit dropped onto the stairs, folding as his heels pulled in and he rested his chin on his knees, arms hugging his shins. Perhaps he could not wrap himself in the warmth of a grandfather's embrace to ward off the isolating chill of his soul room but, for just a moment, the darkness itself felt a little less cold.

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!

Yeah, yeah . . . I know by canon the tablet at the museum is merely "the stone slab" and that "The Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memory" refers to the sarcophagus-lid-like carving with depressions to house all seven Items, and it does indeed open the door to the Afterlife as Bakura says, but . . . well, think about it. The sarcophagus-lid-carving has nothing to do with Yami's memories! It was forged before he was even a year old, if not before he was born. It's the tablet at the museum that he has to present the God cards to for regaining his memories. It is _that_ stone that holds the catalyst energies to interact with those of the God cards to unlock the seal in Yami's mind and soul. On the other hand, I forget where I read the sarcophagus-lid-carving was "named" the Millennium Stone, but that makes a lot of sense to me. Millennium Puzzle, Millennium Key, "Millennium" Pick-an-Item . . . and that carving is basically a Millennium Item in and of itself. Hell, it's the very MOLD that the other Items were fashioned from! The gold was poured into the depressions, and they basically formed themselves! We see it in "Duel 30" of YGO: MW Vol 4 – episode 206 in the anime. So . . . yeah, I can't help but wonder if Takahashi-sensei may have named the carving when he had Pegasus talk about it at the end of Duelist Kingdom, only to rethink a few things and decide to go in a slightly different direction with his story than originally intended by the time he got to the beginning of Battle City. I'm sure any author can relate to that. Hell, /I/ sure can. Oh, well. In any case, this is part of my "fanon" now.

Heh . . . _gomen_. Rant over. -sheepish grin-

_**Hikari**_ – "Light." The yami/hikari terminology is often applied both Yami/Yugi and Ryou/Dark Bakura. The use of this term is strictly a fandom creation, so there are some fans who frown on its use. It is not canon but, then again, neither is calling the Puzzle-spirit Yami, which means "darkness." I happen to like the idea of the "hikaris" Yugi and Ryou balancing their spirits' darkness, especially between Yugi and Yami – Yami would _not_ be who and what he is today without the saving grace that is Yugi – so I've made the choice just for myself to use the terminology as part of my personal fanon.


	2. Chapter 2 Found and Lost

Disclaimer – Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Ronin Warriors (a.k.a. Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers) and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to their respective owners. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters. If you recognize him/her/it, I don't own him/her/it. If you don't recognize, I might still not be the owner but it'd be best to ask. I'd appreciate it, anyway. ((grin))

"The Spellfire Saga – 2: Awakenings"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 2 – Found and Lost

"Minamino-kun!" Mouri Shin waved across the foyer as he pushed his outdoor shoes into his locker. "Long time, no see."

Emerald eyes regarded his sea-green gaze in matching humor as his schoolmate crossed to greet him, chuckling. "Long time, indeed, Mouri-kun."

Shin shook his head. "I've meant to tell you, actually . . . just Shin's okay if you'd like."

The other nodded. "Then just Shuichi for me as well . . . at least _here_." He gave Shin a meaningful look, and it was not wasted.

Shin nodded with a wry grin, knowing now the name he could not use in the presence of but a precious few – "Kurama." Shin had always sensed something different about his classmate, and it had nothing to do with the other's genius-level intellect, which rivaled that of his friend, Hashiba Touma, nor with the other's very un-Japanese appearance: gem-green eyes and long red hair the color of a fox's coat. As of barely three days ago now, Shin knew the truth, though he was still deciding exactly what to think of that truth. But it did not matter, really. Shin had always liked Kurama and was glad for the deeper familiarity they now shared.

That camaraderie, however, had come with a price. Shin grimaced inwardly at the memory of standing in a torn-up soccer field late the other evening – and of static-riddled televised tournament coverage over the twenty-four hours that had followed . . .

"Shin-kun?"

Kurama's soft voice brought Shin back to the present. He managed a small grin as he shook his head. "It's nothing. Are you and your friends still meeting us at Nasutei's tomorrow night?"

"Yes, Yusuke, Kuwabara and I will be there. And Hiei _should_ be."

Shin understood from the tone of voice edged under the wry grin that the small, youkai swordsman tended to keep his own agenda, an impression Shin already had begun to develop on his own from what little he had interacted with the enigmatic "demon" over the weekend. "Good. Nasutei said she talked to Mutou-san yesterday afternoon after he and the others got back. He said he would try to round up his group to be there as well."

Kurama frowned as the first warning bell sounded through the halls. "Mutou-kun himself at least needs to make a special effort to be there. I have a feeling that the presence of his pharaoh friend may be the most important one in attendance."

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"Hey, Date! How's it goin'?" Kuwabara Kazuma flagged down his fellow student in the crowded schoolyard, the other's sweeping locks of golden-blond all but impossible to miss in the sea of otherwise unbroken black. Not that Kuwabara's own ruddy coif was any less conspicuous, but that was beside the point.

One pale violet eye shifted to find his tall, sturdy frame standing by the fence, the other hidden by a low-slung wave of gold. Spotting him, Date Seiji offered a nod and a small grin before swerving to join him in the flow of students heading into the building. He pulled up alongside and shrugged with an air of nonchalance. "It's going. Good morning, Kuwabara-kun. Where's Urameshi-kun?"

Kuwabara blew a few stray threads of hair from his eyes, huffing in annoyance. "Knowin' him, anywhere _but_ here at school. I think he only comes as often as he does just to keep Keiko off his back – not that he does it _enough_ to really work. I think him bein' here last Friday was a fluke, to be honest. Chh, speaking of which, don't think he ever properly apologized for that . . . nnn, me neither, come to think of it. Sorry, man." He paused long enough to shift his school case to his other arm and offer his hand.

Date grinned again, more openly this time, and took it in a firm grasp. "Don't worry about it, really. As I said then, I wasn't watching where I was walking. I think Urameshi-kun and I more or less walked into each other."

"Yeah, but he didn't hafta jump on ya like that, an' I was pretty ready ta back 'im up myself. Hn . . . been doin' that a _lot_ lately, over the past several months," he murmured, shaking his head thoughtfully. At Date's questioning look, he explained, lowering his voice to keep from being heard by others over the general din of conversations around them. "Okay, you know how Urameshi's the 'Spirit Detective' an' all? Well, ever since he became Spirit Detective, me an' him and Kurama an' Hiei – heh, _after_ Urameshi was sent after _their_ butts, too . . . Anyway, the four of us have been dealing with a _lot_ of crap from youkai from the Demon Realm. You remember all that rioting all over Japan a bunch'a months ago?"

Date frowned. "Yes, I do. I also remember seeing these bizarre alien bugs all over that no one else could see. Ryo and the others could see them, too, but only if they had their Armors on."

"They're called Makaichu. They were from the Demon Realm, released by a group of powerful youkai demanding entry into the Human Realm. Me an' Urameshi an' Hiei an' Kurama were sent to their stronghold in the Demon Realm to destroy a magic flute that was keepin' those insects here an' makin' it so they could survive in our world. Heh . . . needless to say, we succeeded." He hoped that Date did not catch the haunted glint that he could feel flicker across his eyes under the swagger, more disturbed by the memories of that mission than he wanted to admit. "Anyway, after that was the mission against that Tarukane bastard who was holding Yukina-san that I was tellin' you about at Nasutei's. And then the Dark Tournament . . . " He scowled deeply even as his voice ran out on him at the nightmarish memories. Date studied him, concerned, but in deference refrained from comment or question, waiting for him to continue on his own.

Kuwabara huffed at himself. "Anyway, that was a whole week of fights an' crap you wouldn't _believe_ – heh, or maybe you would," he allowed with a sheepish grin at the wry quirk to Date's brow in response.

Most of Saturday night at Nasutei's manor had turned into "Storytime with the Ronin Warriors" as the Nine, along with Nasutei and Jun, told of their experiences that culminated in the supernatural war that had broken out in Shinjuku over a year ago. Due to the otherworldly influences at work, it was a matter of some surprise that Kuwabara recalled sensing anything at all, as all of Japan – indeed, the world at large – had somehow managed to forget or subconsciously explain away all that had happened. That had been before Urameshi's "death" and subsequent awakening to the supernatural, while Kurama had been clear across the globe in England for a special, six-week exchange program. Hiei had long crossed over from the Demon Realm by that point in the search for his missing twin sister, but at that time had not cared what befell the Human Realm – still did not, he was quick to argue.

The tale of battle after endless battle that the Elementals, especially, had told was enough to give them all reason to pause, and even Urameshi had blown a low whistle of rueful respect. Many of those fights had been every bit as brutal as any of the rounds of the Dark Martial Arts Tournament – and more than just their own lives had been at stake!

But then too, more than personal lives had been at stake when Lord Yakumo tried to restore his extinct Nether Realm with the Human Realm as the basis . . .

Kuwabara pulled a deep breath. "Date, you know how Koenma was tellin' us the other night about the difference between what _we_ think of as the Nether Realm an' what _you_ guys call the Nether Realm? How we fought a bunch of guys trying to destroy the Human Realm to rebuild the real Nether Realm?"

Date eyed him in curiosity. "Yes."

"Well . . . well, that was only just last weekend – er, I mean two weekends ago, now, I guess. Anyway, I think Urameshi was still just really shook up about that, and you happened to get the short end of it."

Date thought about it. "I can understand that . . . I remember how edgy all of _us_ were after the war with Arago."

An arm around Date's shoulders interrupted further comment as a mop of thick, black hair stuck itself between him and Kuwabara. "Hey, guys! Seiji, why are we rehashing _that_ old news again?" Fierce blue eyes twinkled in mischief.

Kuwabara nearly hit him, so startled was he. "AH! G-gods, Sanada, don't do that! Man, you're as bad as Botan."

"Ryo!" Date groaned in mock-complaint, knocking the arm from his shoulders.

"Yes?" gasped a soft, startled voice from Date's other side.

Kuwabara looked over his companions' heads – easy to do considering his notably greater height – to spot Bakura Ryou standing with Honda Hiroto by a row of shoe lockers. He had not noticed until then that he and the two Ronins had just entered the foyer.

Honda laughed at his classmate. "Man, you _are_ tired, aren't you? He musta meant Sanada. Sanada Ryo. Bit different pronunciation. Hey, guys!" He shifted seamlessly from Bakura to the others.

Kuwabara eyed the mild-mannered teen for a long moment as Sanada greeted them, noting an air of caution from Date as he did the same. Kuwabara could sense the presence of his schoolmate's Millennium Item, probably hidden under his uniform, much like he could sense the energies coming from the Armor orbs in Date's and Sanada's pockets, only this was like a dull pounding at the back of his skull, soft and menacing. Bakura himself however did not feel possessed, nor did he have any expression of dark intention in his eyes. The only things registering there right now were sheepish apology and deep exhaustion.

"I'm so sorry," Bakura was saying, then chuckled. "I thought I heard my name. Well, I mean . . . I guess I kind of did, but . . . " A hand was rubbing the back of his head.

Sanada laughed, waving him off. "Hey, no big deal. So . . . you guys made it back okay yesterday?" A cavalier surface ill concealed the undercurrent of concern that suddenly invaded his voice as he looked the two over again.

Bakura's eyes dropped away from theirs as a haunted flinch darkened Honda's before the latter stuffed away whatever went through his mind just then. Honda nodded. "Yep, everyone back and in one piece."

Kuwabara could see Honda sizing them up for just how much they knew, how much on which he could safely comment. "Hey, Honda, did Mutou tell you he talked to Nasutei last night, and that we're getting together at her place tomorrow?" He startled a bit at the sudden, acerbic glare he got from Date, only to realize that maybe that was not a good subject to have brought up in front of Bakura.

To his and the Ronins' relief, Honda nodded openly. "Yeah, he did. Not sure I'll be able to be there, and Anzu won't be for sure, but Yugi and Jou plan on it. And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, Bakura should be there too, I think."

"Yugi and everyone filled me in on what's been going on during the flight back here yesterday," Bakura put in.

Date scowled faintly and Kuwabara knew what he was remembering, but Sanada nodded. "Yeah, sure. What's one more? Nasutei's got plenty of room . . . and yeah, I agree," he added, only then acknowledging his teammate's unvoiced concern, "you probably should be there too, Bakura-san."

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The spirit rode in the background as Yugi found his desk in his first-period classroom, almost twenty minutes early, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. He jumped a little along with Yugi as a sudden voice startled them from behind. "S'up, Yug?"

"Oh, good morning, Jonouchi-kun."

Jonouchi regarded him in some concern. "What's goin' on? Ya look pretty tired. Did'ja sleep?"

"No, actually, not much. After I got home from our Duel, I – "

The spirit felt the pang of uncertainty in his _aibou_. He could hardly tell what had happened last night without involving Bakura, and Yugi did not want to bring trouble to his friend from Jonouchi and the others if it was not necessary. Besides, they had the God Cards back, so everything had turned out all right in the end.

-_You really should tell him, Aibou_,- the spirit admonished softly.

Yugi sighed. -_I know. It's just . . . I'll tell Jou-kun and the others later_.- "There was a lot going on last night," he concluded.

"What do you mean, 'a lot'? Oh! _'A lot'!_ I get it." The spirit did not know if Yugi understood what Jonouchi thought he meant – he certainly did not. He chuckled as Jonouchi's next words made his _aibou's_ heart skip a beat. Jonouchi leaned in close, whispering, "Uh, speakin'a that, could ya gimme back that video I lent ya? I finally got my VCR fixed, so . . . "

"Huh? Video?"

Jonouchi leaned in closer, dropping his voice even further. "You know, the one with the – "

"Oh! _Th-that_ video!"

The spirit nearly laughed aloud from the solitude of his soul room, sensing the sudden, hot flush in Yugi's face. He knew which tape it was Jonouchi wanted, harboring his own suspicions as to its contents. Yugi had had it since before the spirit was fully self-aware and had actually started to watch it on three separate occasions, only to shut it off within moments each time, without the spirit knowing what he had seen – nor would he definitively answer the spirit's questions after the ruckus that had broken out when the video was discovered in his room. _Well_, the spirit mused, _"boys will be boys," I suppose, or so it's been said_. He could not help the pang in his heart as he caught himself wondering what he himself had been like at Yugi's age. He thought he could hardly have been any older than his partner when whatever had happened had taken place to result in his death and subsequent imprisonment.

"Uh, w-well, Grandpa found that, and he – "

The spirit felt Yugi's heart stop beating completely for a second as a hand slapped him on the back, accompanied by Anzu's cheery voice. "Morning!"

"_Yerk!_" Yugi and Jonouchi gasped in unison.

Noting the furious blushes on both of her friends' faces, she snickered at them. "And just what were _you_ talking about, hm?"

Yugi's heart continued to be uncooperative – now it was racing. "G-good morning, Anzu."

"W-we weren't sayin' nothin'!" Jonouchi put in.

Both were quite glad for Honda's "Yo!" as he joined the growing crowd around Yugi's desk, distracting from the question. Then, everyone turned as Bakura quietly slid up among them. He looked as tired as Yugi felt, though the spirit did not have to wonder why.

Jonouchi, however, did. "What's up, Bakura? Are those lines under your eyes? You look tired."

"Yeah," Bakura murmured. "I couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning."

"Say, Yugi," Anzu put in, "did you bring the God Cards?"

"Yup!" He pulled the Puzzle's box from his backpack, setting it on his desk.

For a long moment, the group only stared. It was Honda who finally picked up the box, opened it . . . and stopped. "Uh . . . Yugi . . . " He set it back down on the desk.

Yugi looked in, and his heart stuffed itself up his throat. "N-no! That can't be!" He pulled his backpack into his lap, emptying the contents onto his desk. "NO!" He searched all around, frantic, until the spirit finally spoke up.

-_Aibou, stop! You'll not find them that way. They're just . . . not here_.- As much as the spirit did not want to face the ramifications of that statement . . .

Yugi shook his head. -_I know that! The question is, where are they?_-

By that point, hands had grabbed the front of Yugi's jacket. The spirit thought for an instant that they belonged to Jonouchi to try to get Yugi to calm down, but then he snarled at the sensation of another's angry Shadows touching his, and he stepped forward, barely giving Yugi time to nod permission and get out of the way.

"Bakura!" the spirit roared, even as he knew it was not Bakura Ryou he addressed.

The Ring-spirit and Puzzle-spirit locked glares as the others backpedaled clear of the brewing altercation. "Worthless, good-for-nothing . . . _Pharaoh!_" the Ring-spirit raged. "How in the many bloody hells of the Abyss could you lose them _a second time?_"

"If you weren't so upset, thief, I'd have to believe you stole them yourself." The Puzzle-spirit yanked himself free of the other's grip, his voice barely more than a feral growl. "I didn't sense it any more than you did, Bakura. I'm guessing you staked yourself outside the building all night, as you must have been to catch the initial thief in the first place. Is that why Bakura's so tired this morning?"

The Ring-spirit stepped back, marginally mollified by the point that he had not prevented the second theft either. Face twisted in anger and disbelief, he muttered, "So . . . they managed to get by both of us. Whoever did this must be a person of some power."

"Whoa, wait, _hold it!_" This time it _was_ Jonouchi to bury fists in someone's school jacket – Bakura's. One hand slapped over the other's chest, and Jonouchi grimaced, nodding to the others. "There it is. Damn you, Bakura! I thought we got rid of you."

"We've been 'rid' of him several times over," Honda groaned.

"So that's why Yugi couldn't find the Ring when he went ta get it from his room, huh? Cuz you made Bakura go steal it back for _you_, ya weasel!"

This time it was the Ring-spirit yanking himself free of another's clutches. "You fool! The Millennium Ring _belongs_ with Bakura Ryou just as the Puzzle does to Mutou Yugi . . . for now," he growled at the Puzzle-spirit, then straightened to face the other soul more fully. "My reasons are my own, but I gave you my word that I would help you. Yes, I was outside your pathetic home all night, Pharaoh. And _you_ were in the same _room_ with the God Cards! How could _you_ at least not have sensed anything?"

The Puzzle-spirit grunted in annoyance to hide his chagrin. "I could not remain active all night, Bakura, as I'm sure you did not. The thief must have returned while I was resting."

"And you didn't even think to look in that blasted box this morning?"

The Puzzle-spirit bristled in his partner's defense. "Aibou hid the box in such a way that, even had it been disturbed, he would have noticed. And the box itself conceals the energies of whatever's within, so that he would have had to open it for me to sense the God Cards' presence or absence." He frowned. "Which brings back up your comment about our thief having some kind of special abilities . . . "

The Ring-spirit rolled his eyes. "You do still have the other Millennium Items at least, right?"

The Puzzle-spirit scowled, but the other had a point. He did not bother to reply in words, stooping to pull open the zipper of the gym bag and let the other see for himself. The Ring-spirit spared only a glance before nodding.

"So . . . now what?" Anzu wanted to know. "Without the God Cards, we can't get back your memories."

Honda shrugged. "We find out who did this and get them back."

The Ring-spirit smirked. "That may be easier said than done, Boy Scout."

"Watch it," Honda growled.

"Stop it, both of you!" the Puzzle-spirit snapped. Both quieted, and he pulled a breath, pushing fingers through red-black locks as he thought. "We go to the museum as we had discussed. Whoever stole the God Cards did not expect us to discover the theft right away. If we continue as expected and do not change our plan, perhaps we can lure the thief out." He glanced sidelong at the Ring-spirit. "Unless anyone else has any ideas."

Apparently, the Ring-spirit did not, though an instant of shock registered in his eyes – chocolate tinged with red – that his opinion should be consulted, before he spun on his heel and headed for his host's desk across the room, releasing possession halfway there.

Bakura Ryou stumbled, caught himself, and staggered the rest of the way to his seat as a huge yawn took him. By then, the rest of the class began to trickle in, and there was no more chance for discussion. Jonouchi gave the Puzzle-spirit a reassuring squeeze on the arm before he, Anzu, and Honda headed to their seats.

Yugi felt terrible, tears pricking the body's eyes as he accepted control back from the Puzzle-spirit. -_Nakama, I-I . . . I'm sorry. I –_ -

The spirit soothed back the hurt and the self-reproach. -_It's all right, Aibou. There's nothing you could have done._-

-_B-but . . . your memories . . . y-your _name_ . . ._ -

The spirit swallowed down his own emotions, keeping them from his partner, loathe to add to the boy's grief. -_Class will start soon, Aibou_,- he murmured gently. -_Concentrate on that for now. We'll figure out the rest later_.-

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3 Do Over

Disclaimer – Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Ronin Warriors (a.k.a. Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers) and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to their respective owners. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters. If you recognize him/her/it, I don't own him/her/it. If you don't recognize, I might still not be the owner but it'd be best to ask. I'd appreciate it, anyway. ((grin))

"The Spellfire Saga – 2: Awakenings"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 3 – Do-Over

"All right, everyone. Since we finished the Physical Fitness tests last week, we're getting back to our regular schedule, and we left off with tennis. So, everyone grab a partner and a racket, and let's get going. Hustle, people. Hustle!" The gym teacher, Ono-sensei, blew his whistle.

Shu Rei Fuan shook his head. That shrill _thing_ always hurt his ears. It was forgotten in the next instant, however, as several of his classmates vied for his attention.

"Hey, Shu-kun, be my partner?" "No way, he's with me today!" "Nah, you're both wrong – "

"Sorry, guys, but you're _all_ wrong," Shu cut in, disappointing three wiry jocks. "I've already got a partner."

"Who?" Goto Naoyuki demanded. Usually, Shu partnered with _him_ during gym class.

_Only because you're the least stuck-up of the lot_, Shu groaned before favoring them with a smirk. He pointed behind them to the wall of the gymnasium, to the small classmate on the edge of the courts just as he was always on the edge of class. "Him."

"What?" "Him?" "Mutou Yugi?"

The object of Shu's comment was even more surprised than its more immediate audience. "M-me?" Yugi stammered in disbelief, having heard his classmate's choice. Yugi's shock did not surprise Shu in the least, knowing that the upperclassman was never anyone's choice so much as the leftover with which people always had the misfortune of being stuck. He grimaced inwardly at the thought, stricken – not for the first time – with a feeling of grave injustice at that.

Ishii Akihiro rolled his eyes. "Oh, gods, Shu-kun, you have _got_ to be kidding me! How the hell could you _want_ Mutou-san for a partner?"

"Yeah, why the sudden change in heart, man?" Ito Yuu wanted to know.

"It's not a change of heart," Shu growled. Rather than argue further, he pushed past them to approach his classmate, Yugi's dark eyes getting wider with each step. Shu had seen a look like that in the other's eyes more than a few times before, but this time held notably less of the fear of being beaten up by a potential bully. "So, Mutou-san, whaddya say?"

"Y-you mean it?" Yugi looked sure that this would turn out to be some cruel joke, even as hope glimmered in his gem-like gaze.

"Hey, I'm standin' here, aren't I?" Shu commented with a shrug, his broad grin as sincere as his eyes were warm.

Yugi broke out with a bright grin of his own. "Awesome! I'd love you be your partner, Shu-kun! Heh, and I meant it the other day . . . just 'Yugi' is fine," he added, his smile turning sheepish.

"Yugi-san." Shu nodded. "Great! I'm honored. Hey, listen," he went on, loud enough for their classmates to hear, "I . . . I wanted to apologize for not hanging out with you in class before now. It's not 'cuz I thought I was too cool for you or anything, just that . . . well, I know what I must look like to you . . . you know? I just didn't want you thinkin' I was gonna come after your lunch money or something," he added with an almost sheepish chuckle.

Yugi laughed. "Well, I can't say that didn't cross my mind, certainly. I'm really sorry that I was wrong about you, Shu-kun."

"Goto, Ito, Mutou, Fuan, and Ishii! Get a leg on it, all of you!"

The group flinched in unison, then Ito waved acknowledgement to the teacher as Shu shuffled his classmates to the equipment locker. Ishii pointedly ignored Yugi to huff at Shu. "Dude, wise up. You'll never win if you're partnered with – !"

Shu shifted around Ishii so the teacher would not be able to see it when he grabbed his fellow classmate by the front of his gym shirt. "_You_ wise up!" he hissed, then let go, glancing to include the other two. "First of all, I don't wanna hear it! It's my choice, not yours, and I've never been one to worry about appearances . . . well, unless it's the fact that my ugly mug makes someone else nervous." He spared a grin at Yugi before continuing. "And second, you guys obviously weren't paying attention to the test scores last week. Mutou here's a damned good runner, and the most nimble person I've ever seen. Even better than my friend Mouri, and _he's_ been in gymnastics! As far as I can tell, we should make a great team – my size and strength plus his speed and agility. And besides, you ever tried to _catch_ someone his size? It's impossible! Believe me – I know . . . " He rolled his eyes with a rueful grin.

Goto chortled knowingly. "Yun or Mei Ryu?"

Shu shook his head, laughing. "Yun. Though Mei Ryu's getting so I can't hold him anymore, either. My little brothers," he explained at Yugi's questioning look. "I'm the oldest of five – me, Rinfi, Yun, Mei Ryu, and Chun Fa. Fifteen . . . Oh, no, wait! I just turned sixteen, heh. Anyway, sixteen, twelve, ten, seven, and four years old." He pulled a tennis racket from a bin in the equipment locker, hefting it in mock-menace. "And boys are already starting to take notice of Rinfi. Tell ya what, man – if anyone so much as touches my sister, _bang!_ Oops! S-sorry, Yugi-san!"

Yugi only laughed with a shrug after having to duck an incautious swing of the racket. "Careful, Shu-kun. You're sounding like my friend Jou-kun."

"Jonouchi-san? Heh, well, maybe he's got the right idea, eh?"

The teacher's whistle blew again, signaling that everyone should be out on the courts, paired off and ready to play, ending further discussion.

For a little while, Shu forgot his irritation at the abortion of their dialogue, grinning to see that his guess was right. He found that he and Yugi made a great team, with Yugi actually covering more than his half, leaving Shu to catch the serves to the back of their court. Yugi even managed to leap to catch many serves meant to pass too high over his head. Soon, however, Shu found his mind turning once again to the events of the past weekend. He had hoped to get a chance to talk to Yugi before class began in earnest, not sure when he would be able to again. Then, a second chance presented itself.

Shu twisted to catch a ball that would land just within the rear boundary of their court, but something in his spine caught instead. His legs buckled, and he dropped the tennis racket to brace himself up from the ground, the other hand going to his lower back.

Yugi was at his side in an instant. "Shu-kun! What happened?"

Shu waved him off. "I'm . . . I'm all right. Just moved wrong, is all."

Ono-sensei, too, came over. "Mutou, take Fuan over to the benches for a breather. Take ten, then I want you both back out here."

"Yes, teacher."

Yugi bowed, and Shu settled for a deep head nod before allowing himself to be led off the court. Yugi tried to get him to sit down on a bench, but he shook his head, lying on the floor flat on his back with his knees pulled up. Yugi sat on the bench by his head, and Shu suppressed a snicker at the impression of a child that crossed his mind without permission, able to see the bottoms of his partner's gym shoes because Yugi's legs were too short to reach the floor.

He closed his eyes in pain of another kind as he remembered some of what he had said to his new friend the last time they saw each other. He looked away from Yugi as he fought to find the right words. "Hey, Y-yugi-san . . . I . . . " He sighed, eyes closing. "Listen, not hanging out with you in class isn't what I _really_ wanted to apologize for. I mean, that too, but . . . "

"You mean the fight on Sunday." Shu could hear the pain in Yugi's voice, no matter how much Yugi might be trying to hide it.

Shu grimaced, his shame deepening. "Y-yeah . . . I mean Sunday. Yugi-san, I – "

"No, Shu-kun, it's okay. Really. Shu-kun, please look at me."

Shu did, though it was hard to meet those expressive, amethyst eyes gazing back in sincerity.

"Shu-kun . . . i-it . . . " It was his turn to sigh, shaking his head. "I won't lie and say the words didn't hurt, but I know that wasn't you speaking, just that disgusting shard putting words in your mouth and trying to use us against each other. I don't blame you at all. I really don't." In spite of himself, Shu was not convinced. Yugi must have seen it on his face, because he continued, confiding, "Shu-kun, did Hashiba-kun or Urameshi-kun tell you where I went when I had to leave them on the top of that hotel?"

Shu gazed up at him with a faint frown of confusion. "You? As in . . . 'single' you?"

Yugi's hand went to his stomach – or more pointedly, his lack of Puzzle, which waited for him in his gym locker as always along with its pharaonic spirit. Yugi grinned softly. "You know what I mean, Shu-kun."

Shu shrugged as much as he could for laying flat on his back. "You two went with Kaiba-san and his brother to find Jonouchi-san and the others . . . which you must have found them okay since you guys all showed up together at the sports park later." Shu eyed him. "How _did_ you guys find us, anyway?"

"Other-Me. He sensed you guys' energies."

Shu quirked an eyebrow at him. "'Other' . . . ? Oh! You mean your spirit friend?"

Yugi nodded, glancing about uncomfortably even though both were keeping their voices low, but the closest people were in a shouting match over an arguably illegal play, and Ono-sensei was jogging over to break it up. "I'll explain more some other time." He pulled a breath and leaned forward, hands braced on the edge of the bench on either side of his knees, feet kicking back and forth idly. "Yup, we found Jou-kun and the others, then came to help you guys . . . but not before Malik-kun tried to kill me and Other-Me – " His eyes closed in remembered pain. " – through Jonouchi-kun."

"What?"

Shu apologized softly when Yugi winced at the raised voice. Yugi nodded. "We Dueled . . . and under pretty lethal conditions. It was set up so that one of us was _not_ going to make it out of the situation alive. First, Other-Me faced Jonouchi-kun, then I took over about halfway through. Jonouchi-kun said some terrible things, things he'd never say on his own, but it wasn't him talking and I knew it. The words hurt . . . but I knew they weren't Jou-kun's words." Finally, Yugi's eyes found Shu's again. "Just like those weren't your words, Shu-kun. So, you see? I know what happened, and I don't hold it against you. Please don't hold it against yourself, okay?"

Shu pulled a deep breath, letting it out in a _whoof_, then nodded. "Yeah, I get what you're saying." He grimaced. "But it still hits too close to home. Ask me sometime about what my buddy Rajura told me once about my Armor. What . . . what he _showed_ me once."

Yugi frowned in concern even as he nodded. "Actually, that's something else. Other-Me and I were hoping to be able to get together with you sometime, maybe after school tomorrow, or even at lunch if that was okay, and ask you more about those Armors you and a lot of your friends were wearing. I talked to Yagyu-sensei yesterday after my friends and I got back from the tournament. Will you be at her house tomorrow night?"

Shu gave his new buddy what he knew must have been a funny look, but then it hit him. "Oh, you mean Nasutei! Heh . . . sorry. I've never actually heard her called that before. But, yeah, she's a research assistant and part-time teacher at the university, so I guess that does make her a _sensei_, doesn't it?" Yugi only shrugged with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good. Other-Me's hoping to find out more about a comment that she made the other day – something about there being more going on than we know about."

Shu swallowed, wondering how much he should say now and how much he should leave until later. He sat up with a groan, Yugi bouncing off the bench in an instant to help him to his feet. "Gimme a hand stretching out?"

"Eh . . . sure, Shu-kun."

Shu straightened his legs out in front of him, then leaned forward with Yugi pressing gently from behind. He instructed Yugi to fold his arms on Shu's back, so that he was pushing with his elbows and forearms across Shu's shoulders. It hampered the amount of bodily weight Yugi could put behind the pressure he exerted by further shortening his already stunted leverage, but it accomplished Shu's real objective: to get the two of them close enough to be able to speak even more freely and quietly until Ono-sensei told them their time was up.

"Yugi-san, listen . . . I know a lot of mystical crap went down yesterday and the night before after you and your friends left. Seiji and Rajura followed what was going on through special abilities their Armors enhance, and I think Hiei-san was actually there with you guys."

"Really? I didn't see him." Yugi paused, as though listening to something – or someone – then commented further. "Other-Me says he didn't sense anyone else, either. Which one is Hiei-san, again? He's the swordsman in all black, right? With the bandana around his head?"

"Yeah, that's him, and no, I don't think your buddy would have sensed him. I remember a comment Kurama-san made – oww . . . okay, ease up." They straightened, Shu pulling a breath before bending forward again carefully, Yugi leaning into him. "Kurama-san kinda laughed at something Shin said a few days ago – don't remember exactly what now – and said that, when Hiei-san didn't want to be found, even _he_ had a hard time tracking him down. And I don't imagine Hiei-san would have wanted to be discovered by you guys, considering what all was going on."

Yugi allowed a soft, rueful chuckle. "Heh, no, I'm sure he wouldn't have, especially after Other-Malik-san came out."

"'Other' Malik?" Shu heard Yugi hesitate, then inhale deeply, stalling to gather his thoughts before responding, and he shook his head. "Never mind. Tell me later. I'm sure our ten minutes is almost up. Main thing for now is: are you guys all okay? Seriously?" He sat up again a little, twisting over his shoulder to study his friend.

Yugi's eyes met his for only a heartbeat before dropping away, but that was all Shu needed, the lingering horror not lost on him who had seen such an expression too many times in his teammates' eyes. But then, Yugi looked back up, the smile genuine if shaded with a taint of remembered fear. "Yup, we really are. We even managed to save Malik-kun, believe it or not. It turned out he was mistaken about a few things, and he'd been . . . pretty deeply hurt himself – " The sudden choke of "something" in Yugi's voice, cutting off the rest of his comment, surprised Shu, along with the strength of hurt and anger that lanced across Yugi's face, a sense of outrage for another's sake. The Justice Virtue of Shu's Armor orb, the Hardrock, flared in response with an icy outcry of its own, sensing the Wrong recalled by Yugi's heart and making Shu flinch and reach into the pocket of his gym shorts. Before Shu could question, however, the moment had passed, and Yugi shook his head with a sigh. "In the end, I guess I can't say that I really blame Malik-kun much for some of the things he did, and he _did_ try to make up for them. We were able to save him before it was all over." Relief and gladness warmed his voice.

"That's good," Shu breathed, knowing that if they really had brought their enemy around and won him back from some darkness, it would not be the first time Shu knew of such a thing happening, his mind turning to the other half of his own team, the Ronin Seasonals, once the highest generals in the army of the Elementals' demonic enemy. He grunted, shaking the thought from his mind even as Ono-sensei barked at him and Yugi that break-time was over. With Yugi's help, he pulled himself to his feet, and they returned to their appointed court.

As usual, the teacher later excused Yugi to change clothes before everyone else, and Shu caught Yugi's arm before he left. "Hey, come over to my locker before you leave for your next class, okay? Got one more thing I want to ask you."

"Sure."

Yugi met Shu at the door almost ten minutes later, dressed in his school uniform, the Puzzle hanging from around his neck where it belonged. He looked up at his friend with a sheepish grin. "I . . . realized I don't know exactly where your locker is."

Shu saw Ishii's sneer out of the corner of his eye and elbowed him before he could comment. "It's over here." They crossed to another part of the room, two rows removed from Yugi's section, and Yugi leaned back on the lockers, hands braced behind his hips, while Shu reached into a metal cabinet over his head. "You mentioned getting together for lunch. Where do you usually hang out?"

Yugi shrugged. "Nowhere in particular, so long as it's with Jou-kun and the others. Sometimes outside of the dance room, sometimes under that stand of cherry trees by the baseball field."

"Would you guys mind some company? I can let Ryo and Seiji know and meet you."

A grin broke across Yugi's face. "That'd be great, Shu-kun! Of course, we wouldn't mind. Heh . . . '/The more, the merrier./' Or so Hamada-sensei told us that Americans like to say."

Shu nodded, recognizing the English phrase. "Under the cherry trees, then?"

"Yup!" Suddenly, Yugi froze, face going pale, and he dropped his head into one hand with a muffled groan. "If my Chemistry teacher doesn't detain me, that is."

"Huh?"

"We have a project due today, that was assigned early last week . . . but with Battle City coming up, and then _happening_ . . . " Yugi whimpered. "I forgot."

Shu clapped him on the shoulder, his voice low but comforting. "Heh . . . s'not easy keeping up with the mundane stuff when you've got a whole other side to your life that you can't even tell people about, huh?" Gods, but how he understood that . . . and _his_ duality did not even compare to Yugi's, he suspected, in its disruption and invasiveness in other aspects of life.

Yugi looked up at him again, and Shu could see the deep appreciation in his eyes that there was one more person who understood what he faced on a daily basis. Yugi nodded, his grin returned, if a bit wry. "Yup, sure can be."

* * *

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4 A Rose

Disclaimer – Yu Yu Hakusho, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Ronin Warriors (a.k.a. Yoroiden: Samurai Troopers) and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to their respective owners. I get no monetary benefit from this. My benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters. If you recognize him/her/it, I don't own him/her/it. If you don't recognize, I might still not be the owner but it'd be best to ask. I'd appreciate it, anyway. ((grin))

"The Spellfire Saga – 2: Awakenings"  
by DragonDancer5150

Chapter 4 – A Rose…

Ryo and Seiji crossed paths with Honda on the way out to the baseball field, then spotted Anzu and Bakura already settled under the trees. Ryo paused only briefly, gripping the Wildfire orb in his pocket, but it did not seem to sense that anything was amiss with the white-haired third-year. Bakura felt as he had this morning: there was a darkness present, but it seemed to lay dormant for the moment. Satisfied, Ryo waved as the pair stood to greet them. "Hey, guys! Mind if we join you?"

"Date-kun, Ryo-kun, hi! Not at all." Ryo grinned that Anzu remembered to call him by his personal name as he had requested last week. Anzu smiled back, then turned to Honda. "Where're Yugi and Jonouchi-kun?"

Honda shrugged. "Figured they'd be here by now."

Seiji shook his head. "Mutou-san might not make it. Shu said his Chemistry teacher might detain him for lunch because he didn't finish a project due today." The responding groans were a mixture of amusement and sympathy.

"That's probably where Jonouchi is, then, too," Honda commented. "They have classes in the same hallway, so Jou usually meets Yugi before they come find the rest of us."

The group settled onto the grass in a moment of uncomfortable silence, starting into their various lunches, before Ryo spoke up. "I know I kinda asked already, but . . . you guys okay?"

Honda, Anzu, and Bakura exchanged looks before Honda pulled a breath, glancing furtively at Bakura as he turned to the two Ronins. "Y-yeah . . . yeah, pretty much, I think. Your friend Kurama wasn't kidding about the Finals being . . . dangerous, though." He pulled another deep breath, combing fingers through close-cut brunette hair. "Man, some _crazy_ stuff went down. I mean, like . . . _crazy_! Even for us." He glanced at Bakura and Anzu, seeming to share a private half-joke with them. They, in turn, only grimaced at the memories.

Ryo sat back, rolling his eyes. "Wanna tell _us_ about crazy?" He grinned sidelong at Seiji, who only nodded.

"Yugi-kun, Jonouchi-kun!" Bakura stood once more, looking relieved to change, or at least stall, the direction of the conversation.

Yugi, Jonouchi, and Shu jogged over, plopping down on the lawn among the group. Jonouchi grinned at Seiji and Ryo. "Cool! Glad you guys could join us. Yug said you might."

Ryo snickered. "Teacher let you out of jail after all, Mutou-san?"

Yugi blinked at him in mild surprise, then flushed sheepishly. "Eh . . . most of the class hadn't finished the project yet, so Hiroshige-sensei extended it another week. And please, Sanada-kun – just Yugi's fine."

Ryo grinned. "Sure thing. Ryo, then . . . and Seiji." He pointed at himself, then jabbed a thumb at his teammate. Seiji nodded.

Bakura tucked his head with a shy grin. "You know, I wouldn't mind being called by personal name, either. It is rather a bit more close and friendly . . . although I guess it could get confusing, too." He looked at Ryo with a soft chuckle.

Ryo laughed. "Yeah, but we'll figure it out."

Jonouchi shrugged. "Eh, I don't care what ya call me, s'long as it's not late for dinner!"

"You and food," Anzu snickered with a shake of her head.

It was Seiji's turn to laugh. "You sound as bad as Shu."

"Hey!"

Honda nodded. "Whatever's fine with me, too."

Another brief moment of silence fell over the group as they ate. Again, it was Ryo to break it first, looking at Yugi – or more pointedly, at the Millennium Puzzle. "Speaking of names, what do you guys call your spirit friend?"

Yugi and his companions exchanged looks, and Ryo wondered if the subject had ever come up among them before. At length, Yugi shrugged. "Well . . . I call him Other-Me. He's . . . my other heart, in a sense."

Jonouchi nodded. "We thought for a long time they were basically the same person. Kinda like split personalities'r somethin', you know? Yugi an' the Other Yugi." He shrugged. "Guess we've never really . . . thought about it since."

"It's only been pretty recently that we've known they're actually two separate people," Honda added. Anzu was strangely quiet, and Bakura would not even meet anyone's eye, his hand straying to his chest.

Seiji studied them. "And . . . you've never asked him?" From the expressions, it was evident that they had not.

Anzu gave them a wan smile. "He introduces himself to other people as 'Yugi,' too. I guess it's just easier than trying to explain himself."

Yugi shook his head. "That, too, but honestly it's because he's just used to it. Even _he_ thought that he and I were facets of the same person, so he's used to answering to my name." To the Ronins, he explained, "You see, my other self doesn't remember his name. In fact, he doesn't remember anything about himself." He glanced at his friends. "We're actually going to Domino Museum after school today to see if there's anything more we can learn. There's an exhibit there from Egypt that includes some artifacts from the dynasty we believe he's from."

Ryo exchanged glances with Seiji, remembering the trip to the museum on Sunday. Likely, Yugi and his friends were going to the same exhibit where Ryo's group had spoken with that Egyptian woman, Ishizu Ishtahl. Just then, too, Ryo frowned and reached into his pocket. Wildfire had warmed against the hollow of his hip with a sensation across his mind that was not exactly a warning.

"You want company?" Shu offered from behind a mouthful of noodles.

Jonouchi grinned. "Sure. Why not?"

"In the meantime, I tell you what, guys – why don't we ask him?" Seiji was looking to the side and up, as though at someone standing behind Yugi.

Yugi flinched in surprise and looked up at the same spot. "Y-you can see him, Seiji-kun?"

Ryo wondered if the spirit had manifested himself, and if it were that to which Wildfire had reacted. If he had, it would not surprise Ryo to know that Seiji could see the spirit even without his Armor, his teammate being the most acutely-attuned among the Ronin Elementals to the psychic and the supernatural.

Seiji nodded, then looked at Ryo and Shu. "Take your Armor orbs in hand and concentrate through them. You might be able to see him even without donning sub-Armors."

Ryo did so, closing his eyes for just a moment as he stretched his senses into the mystical crystal in his palm, then back out through it. He opened his eyes, suppressing a flinch in spite of himself as he noted a translucent figure standing over Yugi, gazing back at him, Seiji, and Shu in stunned silence. _Boy, that Hiei guy wasn't kidding about them looking like brothers!_

It took a moment before the spirit could gather himself. [_Y-you can . . . see me?_] he stammered in shock, a deep mix of emotions in his gaze.

"Dude . . . " Shu breathed.

"Whoa, quit jokin' around!" Jonouchi barked. "You guys can really see him?" Anzu stared at them, stricken, while Honda sat back with a low whistle of astonishment. Bakura, on the other hand, seemed very careful not to show any reaction. At the nods from the Ronins, Jonouchi shook his head, glancing at Yugi. "Damn, wish we could. We only get ta kinda 'see' when he an' Yug trade places." Yugi ducked in apology.

Bakura's voice was barely audible. "I can see him."

Seiji looked at him, at the others, then leaned over to Jonouchi, dropping something into his palm. "Here."

Jonouchi stared down in shock at the green crystal orb in his hand. "Huh?"

Seiji wrapped his hand over Jonouchi's after letting him see the orb of Halo that he had placed there. "Close your eyes and concentrate. Feel the energy in your hand. Try to pull that energy into yourself, into your mind."

Yugi looked excited. "Think that will give Jou-kun the ability to see Other-Me, too?"

Seiji nodded, though he did not take his eyes off of Jonouchi. "I think it will, if Jonouchi-san can pull off his part."

Jonouchi stared back at him for a long moment, looked at Yugi, glanced up in the spirit's general direction, at Honda and Anzu, and finally down at Seiji's hand over his. His grip around the crystal tightened as he raised his eyes to Seiji's once more, taking the challenge with a friendly smirk. "Watch me." He closed his eyes.

Ryo studied the spirit's expression as Jonouchi applied himself to the attempt. He saw the guarded hope in the spirit's eyes, and it occurred to him: for however long they had known their pharaonic friend, they had no idea what he truly looked like, must not have ever been able to interact with him at all but through Yugi. He thought about how lonely that would make him feel if he were in the spirit's place, at once present and yet cut off from his friends. He saw Anzu and Honda eyeing him and Shu, and he nodded before turning back to Jonouchi.

Jonouchi's face scrunched in concentration, then relaxed suddenly with an expression of mild surprise and curiosity. Blinking, he opened his eyes once more, looked around, up over Yugi – and squawked, jerking back in shock so that his hand nearly came out of Seiji's, eyes wide and staring. The spirit gazed back in equal question and surprise. A grin spread slowly across Jonouchi's face, and he breathed in awe. "Wow . . . um . . . Hey, buddy!"

The spirit swallowed. [_J-jonouchi-kun . . ._ ]

Jonouchi gave him a thumbs-up, the goofy grin on his face threatening to split it in two. "Oh, man, this is great! I can see ya, hear ya . . . "

Honda leaned forward. "Dude, seriously?"

"Yeah!"

"Ha-ha! Cool! Hey, c'mere." Shu scooted over closer to Honda, plunking Hardrock's brilliant orange orb into the other's hand and grasping over top.

Ryo and Anzu exchanged looks, and he grinned, offering his hand. She took it with a small smile, the ruby Wildfire orb pressed between their palms. Ryo closed his eyes after she did, searching through the orb for her mind. He was not as practiced at any such thing as Seiji was, but he felt the questing presence beyond Wildfire and reached for it. He heard her gasp as he made contact, and startled back at the flood of emotions that responded: excitement, nervousness, self-consciousness . . . and a secret infatuation. _She's in love with the spirit!_ Ryo realized, then flinched, hoping she had not "heard" that. If she had, he did not sense a reaction. He opened his eyes once more to the sight of Shu watching in amusement as Honda gaped up at his spectral friend, awe and disbelief in his eyes. Then, Anzu opened her eyes . . . and seemed to stop breathing.

The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle gazed around at them all, and Ryo could see that he was just as stricken as they. Ryo imagined that he would be. How often must the spirit have stood among them as he had been just now, and not once had his friends look at him, acknowledge him, with the exception of Yugi? The thought made Ryo's heart ache, and he was glad he and his teammates could offer this opportunity to their new friends.

Yugi sat in silence, observing with a wide smile and a light in his eyes. He looked up after a moment, his voice soft. "Other-Me . . . come join us." He patted the grass next to him.

The spirit hesitated a moment longer, then stepped up next to his partner and crouched on his heels, still looking around at everyone in his own disbelief. At length, he shook his head and offered a small, almost sheepish grin. [_Yo_,] he murmured with a wave of greeting.

Ryo feared for just a split second that Anzu would pass out on him or something, but then he sensed her shake her mental head at herself and pull her focus back to the matters at hand . . . even as she seemed to want to lose herself in dark amethyst eyes.

Honda chuckled, breaking the enchantment. " 'Yo' yourself! Damn, buddy, can't _tell_ you how many times I've wished we could do something like this! I mean, no offense – " He looked at Yugi in apology. " – but it's just not the same when you know you're talking to a different person but looking at the same face."

Yugi laughed. "I can only imagine! Wow, this is awesome! I'm so glad you guys can finally see him, too! Not that I've ever thought you questioned that he's real or anything, but . . . " He looked at the spirit. "It's just that . . . he's wanted to be able to talk to you guys for _so_ long, on his own, without me between you to confuse things."

[_Aibou . . ._ ] The spirit grinned at his partner with a small shake of his head, the hint of embarrassment that shaded his eyes belying the admonishment.

Yugi shrugged, unbothered. "It's true, though. And I understand. It'd confuse the heck out of me, I think, if I were the one looking at one person and knew I was talking to someone else."

Ryo watched the spirit's smile widen, seeming to appreciate that Yugi was not hurt or offended. The Ronin was glad for them.

"Well, now that we got everyone together and talkin' to each other, and hearin' and seein' each other, we got a question for you – What?" Shu huffed at Seiji's groan.

"Shu, you have the tact of an avalanche."

The Warrior of Hardrock grinned with a shrug. "Hey, I'm not the Ronin of Earth for nothin', you know."

The spirit chuckled softly, then sighed. [_My name_.] They could hear the pain in his voice. [_As Aibou and the others have told you, I don't know my name. I . . ._ ] He shrugged. [_I have always been known as Yugi . . . as . . . his darker self, if you will_.] Yugi frowned at that, but the spirit ignored it.

Ryo frowned as well, confused. "But you know you were a pharaoh, right? Couldn't you just look in the . . . well, like, the history books or something? Figure out which one you were?"

The spirit started to respond but deferred as Bakura shook his head. "It's not that simple, actually. Not every pharaoh is recorded in the Kings' Lists. There are wide gaps here and there, with a few dynasties fairly well known and others little at all. Plus . . . we know that Other-Yugi-san's name was very deliberately removed from all records . . . " He gazed at his spectral friend with a deeply chagrined expression in his eyes, as though he felt terrible for bringing it up.

The spirit nodded. [_Or so we have been told. I . . . don't know why, though my guess would be either to protect something, or . . . as some kind of –_ ]

Yugi growled without warning, turning fully to the spirit with a vehemence that surprised even his closest friends. "Nakama, no! Don't say that!"

The spirit sighed. [_Aibou, we don't know –_ ]

"You're right – we don't know. But I've told you before, I refuse to believe that you came to us because of some punishment! You're not a bad person, not now and not then!"

"P-punishment?" Anzu gasped. "Y-yugi, how can you say that?" In her upset shock, she did not even seem aware of what name she called him.

The spirit flinched visibly, eyes dropping from theirs. Seiji studied him a moment, then murmured, "Because of his present imprisonment." The spirit looked up at him, a hint of shame darkening his eyes. Seiji nodded, the spirit's expression seeming to confirm his suspicion. "That artifact is some kind of soul receptacle, I'll bet. It sustains you, but it also binds you somehow . . . doesn't it?" He gazed at the spirit with an expression of empathy.

The spirit studied him in return, at length looking away again with a weary nod. [_Aibou's soul and mine became intertwined somehow when he solved the Millennium Puzzle and awakened me. His life energy bolsters my own . . . but it is the Puzzle itself that binds my soul to this world. I can escape its confines so long as Aibou is in direct possession of the Puzzle, but its energies drag at me. I've . . . never determined how long I can remain outside of the Puzzle before its pull becomes too much, but I'm sure that such a point would be reached were I to test it_.]

"Hn, might not be a bad thing to discover," Seiji mused.

Jonouchi frowned. "Might be if it _hurt_ one of 'em."

Bakura shook his head. "Not likely, Jonouchi-kun. He would be forced back into the Puzzle for a time to rest, but it wouldn't particularly injure either of them."

Honda frowned. "You know that from the Ring-spirit?"

Bakura grimaced, nodding. "Voice tried it a few times, I think."

The Ronins looked at him with odd expressions. "'Voice'?" Shu queried.

Bakura startled, hesitating as he realized that perhaps he had said too much, looking especially at the Ronins, then turning to Yugi and the Puzzle-spirit.

The spirit only gazed back for a moment. [_Has he let you remember last night yet?_] Bakura paused, then looked away and nodded. The spirit sighed and nodded in turn. [_It's all right, Bakura. It wouldn't hurt for the Ronins to know, considering how much they already do._]

Bakura pulled a deep breath. "Yugi-kun's . . . not the only bearer of a Millennium Item with a spirit bound within." He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the Millennium Ring hanging against his chest. "Unlike him, I've . . . never seen the Ring-spirit. He's just a voice in my mind, when he lets me be aware of him at all." He scowled, as did the Puzzle-spirit.

Jonouchi studied him a long moment, then nodded. "Bakura an' the Ring-spirit don't exactly share the same relationship as Yugi an' Other-Yugi."

"No," Honda grunted. "More like host and parasite." He flinched and glanced apology at Bakura, as though realizing after the fact that it might be rude to say as much in front of him.

Bakura shrugged with a small grin as he buttoned his shirt closed. "What is, is, I suppose. In any case, back to the subject of names . . . " He hesitated again, continuing only after an encouraging nod from the Puzzle-spirit. "The ancient Egyptians believed in a very real power in a person's name, that it was tied to his or her very essence. If you look at some of the monuments, you'll notice cartouches with the names inside chiseled out. They believed that if you destroyed all record of a person's name and never spoke it again, so that the name itself became forgotten, you could destroy the person as well and keep him from passing on into paradise in the Afterlife."

Shu winced. "Dude, that's harsh!"

Ryo looked at the Puzzle-spirit, thinking he understood. "So . . . maybe someone had a beef with you and tried to hurt you by taking your name, but the Puzzle nabbed you instead?" The spirit could only shrug.

Yugi's fists clenched in his lap, his words an impassioned oath. "We're going to get it back for him, though."

Ryo nodded. "I'm sure you will, and the Ronin Warriors will help you." Seiji and Shu nodded, and Yugi grinned at them, thankful.

"So . . . so if we get you your name back, though," Anzu ventured, "will . . . that release you from the Puzzle?"

The spirit met her eye for a long moment before responding. [_I don't know, Anzu. As we talked about once before, I want to know who I am, but I also want to stay with Yugi . . . with all of you_.] The conflict in his eyes was clear for all to see as he looked around at everyone. Yugi's eyes were hidden behind his bangs for a moment, as he was unwilling or unable to meet anyone's gaze and reveal his own struggle.

Seiji sat up, drawing attention to himself. "We're getting ahead of ourselves, guys. We don't even have his name yet, so let's not worry about what it will or won't do, all right?" He focused on the spirit. "Until we do get your true name back, the question is: what do you _want_ to be called? We can't just keep calling you 'the other Yugi'."

Jonouchi bristled a little. "Why not? It's worked for this long."

Yugi chuckled. "True, but I think Seiji-kun has a point. You've never gotten to actually talk to both me and Other-Me at the same time. I don't mind sharing my name – I really don't! – but if we get to talk like this more often, having two Yugis is going to be worse that telling Ryo-kun from Ryou-kun!" Ryo and Bakura exchanged amicable grins and shrugs.

[_I am truly honored to be known by Aibou's name, but he's right. Still, I've . . . never really thought about it, to be honest_.]

"Well . . . tell us a little about yourself," Shu suggested. "Likes, dislikes . . . Surely you remember _something_ about yourself, don't you?"

The spirit chuckled, sounding amused in spite of himself at the warrior's tone. [_I wish I did, Shu. Believe me_.] He sighed, shaking his head. [_Unfortunately, there is nothing. My mind is as dark as the Shadows_.]

Bakura shook his head. "Speaking of which, I still can't believe you initiated a full Shadow Game."

The spirit grimaced. [_It was the only way, Bakura_.]

Ryo frowned. " 'The' shadows . . . ?" He gasped softly as he remembered. "That canopy of darkness! That was _your_ doing, wasn't it?" The spirit nodded. "Hey, what the hell kind of power is that? I've never heard of anything like it."

Honda snickered at the look on his face. "This coming from a guy who can pull a suit of samurai armor out of a shooting marble."

"Uh . . . yeah, well . . . "

The group laughed at that for a moment before refocusing, Jonouchi reaching with his free hand to pull a stack of cards from a small case on his belt. "Anyway, yeah, that was Other-Yugi. See, he figured if he made that into a Shadow Game, he'd be able to make it so the holograms from our Duel Disks would be a little more real an' be able ta help you guys. Worked even better than we thought, too, huh?"

[_Very much so. I had hoped we might be able to confuse your enemy, adding allies to give you all some advantage. I didn't . . . well, perhaps I _should_ have guessed that our spells and traps would have worked as they did_.]

"Shadow 'game,' huh?" Ryo shook his head with a deep grimace. "That really wasn't exactly a game, you know." He looked at the spirit. "And what was that power that released everyone when you called 'game over,' anyway?"

The spirit hesitated, then shook his head. [_A proper explanation of the Shadows and the Shadow Games is a very long telling. I'll wait to explain until I can do so once for everyone, at your friend Nasutei's house tomorrow night_.]

Ryo frowned but nodded, understanding.

"Hey, Jonouchi-san, may I?" Shu asked, gesturing at the cards in the other's hand.

"Sure!" Jonouchi handed over his Deck, watching as Shu set it on his thigh to turn through it a card at a time, one-handed so he did not break the contact with Honda. Jonouchi grinned suddenly as though just then remembering something and wagged a finger at the warrior. "An' just in case you've forgotten, you still owe me a Duel."

Anzu laughed. "Yeah, and we better get to watch!"

Yugi nodded. "I don't know if Mai-san is still in town, but I know she still wants a rematch, too."

Shu grinned at them. "Oh, I haven't forgotten! Although . . . " His grin turned sheepish as he focused on Jonouchi. "Dunno I'll be any kind of a challenge to someone who's ranked in the top four in two consecutive tournaments."

"Well," Yugi put in, "you never know until you try."

"Yeah, right!" Shu said with a laugh. "And that coming from the _champion_ of both those tournaments!"

[_Aibou's right, Shu_,] the spirit admonished, his tone mild. [_You'll never get stronger if you don't spar and practice and develop your skills, just as in anything_.]

"Heh . . . yeah, that's true."

"So that magical energy you used . . . you draw it from shadows?" Ryo asked.

The spirit sighed. [_Not just any shadows, no. Not as in shadows such as this tree casts. The Shadows that I wield are energies not of this world, but from a different realm altogether_.]

Bakura shuddered. "The Shadow Realm." Anzu put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him.

Ryo frowned in thought, nodding slowly. "Malik mentioned such a realm when he was talking to you guys through that mime when you fought him at the waterway. Was that a Shadow Game, too? I remember we all felt . . . well, _something_ like the energies you used at the sports park. Not quite as strong, though, overall."

[_That was not a full-fledged Shadow Game, no, but the Shadows were indeed present in that Duel_.]

Shu handed Jonouchi back his Deck, then checked his watch and groaned. "Bell's gonna ring soon, guys." Reluctant nods responded from all around.

"Yami."

"Eh?" The murmur of questioning reaction sounded from most everyone in the group. Seiji had been sitting in such silence, as though pondering something, that the comment without any preamble startled them all.

Seiji nodded to himself, then looked at the spirit. "Yes, I think that would suit you."

The spirit frowned at him in confusion. [_I'm afraid I don't follow_.]

"Your name, or at least one for us to call you until we recover your true name." Seiji ticked off his points on the fingers of his free hand, the other still locked over Jonouchi's fist. "You call yourself a darker aspect of Yugi-san. You live in the darkness of the Millennium Puzzle, your mind as dark as that. You wield a power known as the Shadows. Hn, for all we know, it could be those very Shadows, that Darkness, that holds your true name from you, even. So . . . let those Shadows give you one in return. 'Darkness.' Yami."

The group turned to the spirit, who gazed at Seiji in a mixture of surprise and contemplation. [_Yami . . ._ ]

Honda nodded. "You know . . . he's right. It does suit you."

"I think so, too," Bakura offered, his voice soft.

"Yeah! I like it," Jonouchi declared. "Yami it is! Whaddya say, buddy?"

Anzu rolled her eyes at him, then looked at the spirit, seeming to test the name. "Yami . . . Yami . . . heh, 'Yami-no-Yugi'?" she wondered, glancing at Yugi.

Yugi thought about it another moment, then grinned. "I like it, too. What do you think, Nakama?"

The spirit stared around at the group for a long moment, a faint smile tugging at his lips. [_I-I . . . yes. I suppose it is fitting, isn't it?]_ He turned to the Ronin and offered a small bow. [_Thank you, Date Seiji_.]

Seiji grinned back. "Hey, don't worry about it."

"Cool!" Shu exclaimed.

Ryo was laughing. "Is it just me, or does anyone else see the irony in the Ronin Warrior of _Light_ giving a name to the spirit of 'the Darkness'?"

Bakura folded over with a snicker. "Oh, right! I think that's perfect!"

Jonouchi stood up just then, careful not to loose Seiji's grip on his fist. The spirit of the Millennium Puzzle followed suit as Jonouchi fixed him with a mirthful gaze. "Well, then, I say we do this right, eh?" He stuck out his hand. "Hey! Nice ta meet'cha. Name's Jonouchi Katsuya. What's yours?"

The spirit gaped at him in shock for the span of a few heartbeats, then shook his head and laughed. It was soft but a rich sound and pleasant to hear. He could not grasp his friend's hand properly, but he held his out to align just the same, seeming to delight in this game with his friend. [_The pleasure is mine, Jonouchi-kun. I do not know my true name yet, but for now . . . I am called Yami_.]

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Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!


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